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Brave the lockdown in the name of Art ?
A few months ago, the streets of cities from countries all around the world have been deserted by any sign of humanity. The announcement of lockdown was a surprise and, for the most of us, a very bad new but not for all : I followed the trace of a highly convinced street artist in the middle of the quarantaine, and that’s how London became his private playground.
To be able to spray paint this storefront in London on Friday, Nathan Bowen, a 35 year old man, put on a reflective yellow vest : one of the many techniques
he uses to avoid getting into trouble with the police, because remember that during quarantine no one is allowed to leave his home. “I just saw that blank board and thought, ‘Yeah! There’s going to be so many opportunities to paint,’” he said. By order of the British government, citizens of London could normally only leave their homes for essentials reasons, but Nathan saw it differently. “In this time, you need people like me to go out,” he said. “If no one’s doing it, the city has no vibe.”.
Anyway the urgency and the importance of showing his art even if it mean
s defying the ban on government is not shared by all street artists, he has been going out every couple of days since, he said, and has been shocked to find that he appeared to be the only street artist out. “This lockdown’s a true test,” Mr. Bowen said. “You get all these graffiti guys going on about how they’re so anti-system, so radical, yet this comes around and I haven’t seen one bit of ‘graf.’ ”. According to Bowen, art is above all a means of communication, he wanted to give a helping hand to the employees of the hospital at that time, he said, that's why during the pandemic he only painted works with messages of support for the National Health Service, the British state health care provider.
A ghost town, deserted streets and no more signs of life? if it is not your dream, it is definitely that of Mr. Bowen. For him, the lockdown was more of a boon than a constraint : “For me, this lockdown works in reverse,” he added. “Everyone’s left the city now, so it’s time for the underworld to come through.”.
If you are wondering, the trick of putting on a reflective jacket to pretend to be a builder worked well, Mr bowell painted numerous surfaces during the confinement, two police officers saw him but did not suspect anything. Very few artists have done the same, even the famous Banksy stayed at home, and practiced his art in his own apartment, creating the happiness of his followers on Instagram.
A few months ago, the streets of cities from countries all around the world have been deserted by any sign of humanity. The announcement of lockdown was a surprise and, for the most of us, a very bad new but not for all : I followed the trace of a highly convinced street artist in the middle of the quarantaine, and that’s how London became his private playground.
To be able to spray paint this storefront in London on Friday, Nathan Bowen, a 35 year old man, put on a reflective yellow vest : one of the many techniques
he uses to avoid getting into trouble with the police, because remember that during quarantine no one is allowed to leave his home. “I just saw that blank board and thought, ‘Yeah! There’s going to be so many opportunities to paint,’” he said. By order of the British government, citizens of London could normally only leave their homes for essentials reasons, but Nathan saw it differently. “In this time, you need people like me to go out,” he said. “If no one’s doing it, the city has no vibe.”.
Anyway the urgency and the importance of showing his art even if it mean
s defying the ban on government is not shared by all street artists, he has been going out every couple of days since, he said, and has been shocked to find that he appeared to be the only street artist out. “This lockdown’s a true test,” Mr. Bowen said. “You get all these graffiti guys going on about how they’re so anti-system, so radical, yet this comes around and I haven’t seen one bit of ‘graf.’ ”. According to Bowen, art is above all a means of communication, he wanted to give a helping hand to the employees of the hospital at that time, he said, that's why during the pandemic he only painted works with messages of support for the National Health Service, the British state health care provider.
A ghost town, deserted streets and no more signs of life? if it is not your dream, it is definitely that of Mr. Bowen. For him, the lockdown was more of a boon than a constraint : “For me, this lockdown works in reverse,” he added. “Everyone’s left the city now, so it’s time for the underworld to come through.”.
If you are wondering, the trick of putting on a reflective jacket to pretend to be a builder worked well, Mr bowell painted numerous surfaces during the confinement, two police officers saw him but did not suspect anything. Very few artists have done the same, even the famous Banksy stayed at home, and practiced his art in his own apartment, creating the happiness of his followers on Instagram.
A very good and original job once again, Angèle.
ReplyDeleteI want to congratulate you on the quality of your telework and assiduity throughout lockdown.
A very good and original job once again, Angèle.
ReplyDeleteI want to congratulate you on the quality of your telework and assiduity throughout lockdown.